New vehicle sales in Vietnam plunged by over 21% to 19,345 units in July, from 24,584 units in the same month of last year, according to member data released by the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association (VAMA).
The data did not include some non-affiliated brands, meaning the actual market size is larger than these figures suggest.
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The sharp decline in July followed a mild rebound in June but the overall trend in recent months has been negative after four years of exceptionally strong growth. Last month the market was driven lower by particularly weak sales of passenger vehicles.
Economic growth is estimated to have rebounded to 6.2% year-on-year in the second quarter, from 5.1% in the first quarter, driven by strong manufacturing and construction sector activity.
In the first seven months of the year the overall vehicle market was 2.3% lower at 144,840 units, compared with 148,244 units in the same period of last year. Passenger vehicle sales were still up by 4.4% at 85,456 units in this period while commercial vehicle sales fell by 10.6% to 59,384 units.
Toyota was the leading brand in the first seven months of the year with sales rising by 13% to 33,929 units. Truong Hai (Thaco) group, the local assembler and distributor of brands such as Kia, Mazda, Peugeot and Hyundai, reported a 14% drop in group sales to 54,728 units.
Ford's sales rose by 3% to 16,789 units in the seven-month period, while GM's sales were 26% higher at 6,536 units and Honda's were 18% higher at 6,570 units.
